The Turquoise Beauty of

Valle Verzasca Ticino

One place I’ve wanted to visit in Switzerland since I arrived nearly 10 years ago is the Valle Verzasca.

With its turquoise jade waters and large beautiful boulders, you see pictures of it on everything from billboards to magazines to Facebook pages and until now I’ve never had the opportunity to visit.

However, the other day I went to Ticino and using Locarno as my base took the 321 bus from outside the main station and before I knew it I was walking along the rocks and boulders admiring the crystal clear water and exploring this truly magical place.

The water varies in colour from pale turquoise to deep jade and as the weather changes and the sun comes out the colours change shades too.

There is a very picturesque and distinctive double arched bridge across the river called Ponte dei Salti in Lavertezzo. It’s made of stones which have been laid in a particular pattern and it actually comes up quite low as you walk along it.

From the bridge you get stunning view both ways; on the one side toward a lovely church with a beautiful spire and on the other you can just see pure nature, and lots more stones and boulders and of course the beautiful green water.

You can follow the river down the valley and even go swimming or canoeing – though you do need to be careful of the currents.

If all that sounds too energetic simply relax on the well worn rocks in various shapes and maybe dip a toe into the cool refreshing water.

Further down the valley you can find the Verzasca dam on the Lago di Vogorno at the entrance to the valley. Apparently James Bond jumped 220m here attached to just a rubber rope and this is now a popular place for bungee jumping. Other activities in the region include canyoning, biking, hiking and fishing.

Valle Verzasca is a wonderful place to visit and you can’t fail to be moved by its beauty.

You may be interested to know that you can even rent some of the old stone houses known as “Rustici”, to stay in.

So if you’re looking for a break not too far away from Zurich and fancy discovering some truly outstanding places in Switzerland you should definitely add this one to your bucket list!

All photos by Carmen Sirboiu

For more information on this area please visit the Ascona-Locarno website here.

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